Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is facing mounting scrutiny just a week before New York City’s mayoral election, after a conservative watchdog accused his campaign of accepting illegal foreign donations.
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation on Tuesday filed two criminal referrals, one with the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and another with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, alleging that Mamdani’s campaign violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and New York Election Law by taking contributions from foreign nationals, according to a Fox News report.
According to the complaints, Mamdani’s campaign reportedly collected nearly USD 13,000 from at least 170 donors with addresses outside the United States, including one from his mother-in-law in Dubai.
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US law bans foreign nationals from donation
Federal law strictly prohibits foreign nationals from donating to American political campaigns.
{{/usCountry}}Federal law strictly prohibits foreign nationals from donating to American political campaigns.
{{/usCountry}}"These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors," Dan Backer, a national campaign finance expert and president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, told Fox News.
“This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race which is a clear violation of both federal law and New York City campaign finance rules. Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it,” he added.
It further claimed that Mamdani’s campaign was aware of the issue for months but failed to take corrective action.
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‘Donors have proven their citizenship’: Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani however said, "31 of the 170 donors have proven their citizenship or legal permanent residence and have been deemed permissible by the Campaign Finance Board, and the remaining 139 have had their donations refunded."
In its filings, the group urged both federal and local prosecutors to investigate what it described as a “serious breach of election integrity.”
The DOJ referral seeks an inquiry into possible violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act, while the Manhattan filing cites New York Election Law 17.152, which makes it a misdemeanor to conspire to influence an election through unlawful means.
“Foreign money in American elections is not just a technical violation — it’s a threat to self-government,” said CRF Chairman Shaun McCutcheon, warning that every illegal dollar “dilutes the voice of lawful American voters.”
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation has previously filed similar complaints against Democratic figures including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee.
Mamdani’s campaign has not yet commented on the latest allegations.